Teens shaving lines in eyebrows raise gang concerns in schools

Andy Gonzalez was studying for a science test at Centennial
High School when a school security guard told him to go
home.

It was his eyebrows, the security guard said. Gonzalez, a
Cuban American junior in stylishly baggy clothes, had shaved
a vertical line down the center of each eyebrow. They look
like a gang symbol, the security guard said, adding,
"If you're going to come to school like that,
don't come at all."

But Gonzalez, 17, isn't in a gang, he says, and only
shaved the lines to look cool. Like other teens across the
metro area, he's sporting the latest fashion trend,
spotted from Cleveland to Reynolds high schools,
particularly among Latino and African American students.

At Centennial, however, administrators are telling students
who shave the lines that they can't return to school
until they take care of the problem -- by shaving their
eyebrows off. Four students have been sent home -- one came
back immediately with a bandage covering the shaved brow.
The others are still out of school.

Assistant Principal Mark Porterfield said the students are
not suspended, but they are not allowed in school until they
cooperate.

"We just saw a little of it and reacted to it,"
Porterfield said. "Just like if a student had
gang-related clothing, we want to keep that out of the
schools."

Rappers from Vanilla Ice to this year's reigning
hip-hop champ, Soulja Boy, have sported shaved brows. But
police say gangs have co-opted the trend for their own use.
In this case, Gresham police say members of Southside 13, a
prominent Latino gang in east Multnomah County, are marking
themselves by shaving one line into an eyebrow and three
lines in the other to symbolize 13.

"We don't dictate policy for any schools,"
said Officer David Schmidt of the East Multnomah County Gang
Enforcement Team. "We just tell them what we see the
latest trends are. This is a way for them to identify each
other. In a school setting, it intimidates other kids."

Porterfield said Centennial implemented the rule after other
area high schools, including Gresham, did.

Gresham High officials said their policy is slightly
different. They only look for the 13 style and would not
send students home for having different shavings. If
students did shave the symbols into their eyebrows, Gresham
administrators say, they would ask them to fill in the marks
with an eyebrow pencil.

Administrators at other schools -- including Reynolds High
and Grant High -- say they have not had any problems with
students shaving gang symbols into their eyebrows.

Centennial's policy does not specifically outlaw shaved
eyebrows but does say administrators can change policy when
advised by law enforcement.

If Gonzalez wants to return to school -- "Of course I
do," he said -- he'll have to do something
decidedly uncute: Shave the rest of his eyebrows off.

"But I don't want to do that," he says.
"I'd be humiliated."

Students say they are getting different, confusing signals
about what is allowed and when they can return. They also
say officials have not announced to students the rule or the
sanctions for violating it.

Assistant principal Porterfield told junior Jasiel Carmona
that he could return if he colored his eyebrows in with
makeup, but a security guard told him that wasn't good
enough. He'd have to shave them off.

David Fidanque, executive director of the American Civil
Liberties Union of Oregon, said schools are required to have
clear rules.

"Most school districts have general rules that prohibit
gang behavior and attire," he said. "What may be
viewed as gang behavior can change quickly. There is some
leeway, but it can be very tricky because the rules do have
to be clear. If a student is going to be suspended or
expelled, they need to know what the rule is before
they're punished for violating them."

Shaved eyebrows aren't the only fashion trend used as
gang symbols, Schmidt said. Across the metro area, teens
wear price tags and size stickers on their hats. Schmidt
says some use the hat sizes to signify their gang status.

But not everyone who wears the tags is in a gang, Schmidt
says. Because gang symbols and general fashion can closely
resemble each other, Schmidt says, the police look for
specific factors.

"Never just one thing identifies a gang member,"
Schmidt says. "We don't walk up to kids and say,
'Hey your eyebrow is carved, we're going to mark
you as a gang member.' We go by a combination of
things. Otherwise, you could have a kid who is wearing blue
and maybe just likes blue and doesn't associate it with
a gang."

Back at Centennial, Gonzalez is still out of school. He says
shaving his eyebrows was a natural progression from the
patterns he used to shave in his hair.

The lines he shaved above his eyes were meant to impress,
not intimidate.

"It's just for the ladies," Gonzalez said.
"They think it looks cute."

Teens shaving lines in eyebrows raise gang concerns in schools

Andy Gonzalez was studying for a science test at Centennial
High School when a school security guard told him to go
home.

It was his eyebrows, the security guard said. Gonzalez, a
Cuban American junior in stylishly baggy clothes, had shaved
a vertical line down the center of each eyebrow. They look
like a gang symbol, the security guard said, adding,
"If you're going to come to school like that,
don't come at all."

But Gonzalez, 17, isn't in a gang, he says, and only
shaved the lines to look cool. Like other teens across the
metro area, he's sporting the latest fashion trend,
spotted from Cleveland to Reynolds high schools,
particularly among Latino and African American students.

At Centennial, however, administrators are telling students
who shave the lines that they can't return to school
until they take care of the problem -- by shaving their
eyebrows off. Four students have been sent home -- one came
back immediately with a bandage covering the shaved brow.
The others are still out of school.

Assistant Principal Mark Porterfield said the students are
not suspended, but they are not allowed in school until they
cooperate.

"We just saw a little of it and reacted to it,"
Porterfield said. "Just like if a student had
gang-related clothing, we want to keep that out of the
schools."

Rappers from Vanilla Ice to this year's reigning
hip-hop champ, Soulja Boy, have sported shaved brows. But
police say gangs have co-opted the trend for their own use.
In this case, Gresham police say members of Southside 13, a
prominent Latino gang in east Multnomah County, are marking
themselves by shaving one line into an eyebrow and three
lines in the other to symbolize 13.

"We don't dictate policy for any schools,"
said Officer David Schmidt of the East Multnomah County Gang
Enforcement Team. "We just tell them what we see the
latest trends are. This is a way for them to identify each
other. In a school setting, it intimidates other kids."

Porterfield said Centennial implemented the rule after other
area high schools, including Gresham, did.

Gresham High officials said their policy is slightly
different. They only look for the 13 style and would not
send students home for having different shavings. If
students did shave the symbols into their eyebrows, Gresham
administrators say, they would ask them to fill in the marks
with an eyebrow pencil.

Administrators at other schools -- including Reynolds High
and Grant High -- say they have not had any problems with
students shaving gang symbols into their eyebrows.

Centennial's policy does not specifically outlaw shaved
eyebrows but does say administrators can change policy when
advised by law enforcement.

If Gonzalez wants to return to school -- "Of course I
do," he said -- he'll have to do something
decidedly uncute: Shave the rest of his eyebrows off.

"But I don't want to do that," he says.
"I'd be humiliated."

Students say they are getting different, confusing signals
about what is allowed and when they can return. They also
say officials have not announced to students the rule or the
sanctions for violating it.

Assistant principal Porterfield told junior Jasiel Carmona
that he could return if he colored his eyebrows in with
makeup, but a security guard told him that wasn't good
enough. He'd have to shave them off.

David Fidanque, executive director of the American Civil
Liberties Union of Oregon, said schools are required to have
clear rules.

"Most school districts have general rules that prohibit
gang behavior and attire," he said. "What may be
viewed as gang behavior can change quickly. There is some
leeway, but it can be very tricky because the rules do have
to be clear. If a student is going to be suspended or
expelled, they need to know what the rule is before
they're punished for violating them."

Shaved eyebrows aren't the only fashion trend used as
gang symbols, Schmidt said. Across the metro area, teens
wear price tags and size stickers on their hats. Schmidt
says some use the hat sizes to signify their gang status.

But not everyone who wears the tags is in a gang, Schmidt
says. Because gang symbols and general fashion can closely
resemble each other, Schmidt says, the police look for
specific factors.

"Never just one thing identifies a gang member,"
Schmidt says. "We don't walk up to kids and say,
'Hey your eyebrow is carved, we're going to mark
you as a gang member.' We go by a combination of
things. Otherwise, you could have a kid who is wearing blue
and maybe just likes blue and doesn't associate it with
a gang."

Back at Centennial, Gonzalez is still out of school. He says
shaving his eyebrows was a natural progression from the
patterns he used to shave in his hair.

The lines he shaved above his eyes were meant to impress,
not intimidate.

"It's just for the ladies," Gonzalez said.
"They think it looks cute."